


To Have a Home

by Finally_Facing_Failure



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Black Friday, F/M, Multiple Universes, Starkid - Freeform, black friday musical - Freeform, team starkid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25466077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finally_Facing_Failure/pseuds/Finally_Facing_Failure
Summary: As Hannah's mental health appears to be declining, Lex has no choice but to turn to her former teacher in order to provide for her sister. Regardless of her fights with her boyfriend Ethan, Lex feels as though life is going well. That is, until John McNamara shows up, and Lex' Black Friday is about to become a whole lot worse...
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Lex and Hannah and the Big Scary Green Toys

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe I started writing this in November, but I'm only uploading this now?  
> This story does not completely follow the Black Friday canon, but it is loosely based upon it! I hope you enjoy it :)

Chapter 1: Lex and Hannah and the Big Scary Green Toys

“It seemed like such a great deal back then… One step forward and all my troubles would just…” Lex made a fist and then spread her fingers, making a soft _whoosh_ sound with her breath. She laughed joylessly. “…disappear.”

She was stood on the Clivesdale bridge, leaning her arms on the rusty red railing as she watched the water flow beneath her.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t though, right? Not anymore?”

“God no.” Lex turned away from the side of the bridge and looked back to the car, and Hannah’s sleeping figure in the backseat. “I’d never leave her.”

“I’m glad. I really am.” Ethan put his arms around Lex’ back and kissed her neck.

Lex grinned as she tried to push her boyfriend off.

“Baby! Don’t leave me!” Ethan joked, his voice high-pitched. He grabbed her hands and put them over her chest. “Stay with me always and looooove me!”

“Shut up, asshole!” Lex giggled, trying to keep her voice down. Inside the car, Hannah shifted, but appeared to still be asleep.

Ethan snorted, but obliged. Together, they stared at Hannah, Lex more tenderly than Ethan. Lex felt a sinking feeling in her chest when she thought about why they had come to this bridge.

Mom had been drunk again. What was that, the third time this week? She had lost her job today, presumably because she kept showing up high. Even Lex wasn’t that stupid. No, Lex-At-Work was all kind smiles and “yes-sir”, “of course ma’am”. Just thinking about it made her frown.

“I’m working a double shift tomorrow, can you watch Hannah for me?” Lex hated asking Ethan this. She knew her sister had… bad days sometimes, and Ethan really wasn’t the right person to handle it. He wasn’t the responsible type, and although he and Hannah loved each other, Ethan could freak her out sometimes with his loud voice and violent jokes.

“I’m working too.” Ethan played with his silver earring absentmindedly.

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Can’t she stay with your Mom?” Ethan smirked. “It’s not like Marie has somewhere better to be.”

Lex hit Ethan on his arm. “That’s not funny! If I leave Hannah with her, Mom will yell at her every time she talks about Webby.”

Ethan rubbed his arm and shrugged, “Well, she’s got a point there.”

“Ethan!”

“What? It’s weird and it freaks me out!” Ethan hopped onto the railing, turning so that his feet were dangling off the bridge.

Lex sighed, but didn’t correct him. He was kind of right. She bit her lip and leaned on the railing again.

“I looked into how much it would cost to take her to a shrink. Let’s just say I would have left Hatchetfield years ago if I had that kind of money.”

“I thought you said she wasn’t crazy, just ‘creative’.”

“She isn’t crazy! I just…” Lex pressed her fingernails into the palms of her hand, clenching her fist until the sharp pain in her hand drowned out the pain in her heart. “Talking to someone who understands this shit could help her. I just want her to be happy.”

“Try taking her to school more than two mornings a week. The girl can’t even talk in full sentences.” Ethan smiled, but stopped when he looked at Lex’ face. “Never mind.”

“She can talk, but when she thinks Webby is with her, she can’t focus on anything else. She’s just scared.”

“I thought Webby was her friend.”

“Yeah well, even my kid sister realises that an interdimensional spider whispering the secrets of the universe in your ear is something to worry about.”

Ethan grunted but stayed quiet for a while. When he spoke again, his voice was full of anger.

“Or maybe we just need to get the fuck out of here. We could go someplace where people still have hope. Where you don’t see the light slowly leaving the eyes of every kid on the street. Where you don’t have to choose between an office job or being broke as shit.”

“I have never heard of a place like that.” And even if she had, Lex wasn’t sure if she’d go there with him. If they’d make it together.

Ethan frowned and ticked his fingers on the iron railing, to the tune of a song Lex did not recognise.

“What would you do, if you could have any job you wanted?”

Lex tilted her head, surprised by the deepness of the question. Ethan usually didn’t contemplate anything more complicated that what he should have for breakfast, and even that was tricky for him sometimes.

“I’d be an actress.”

“You’d be fucking fantastic, I’m sure.” Ethan leaned down and kissed the top of Lex’ head.

“Thanks. What about you?”

“I’d be rich.”

“Okay, big boy.” Lex patted him on his thigh. “That’s not a job, though.”

Ethan grinned, “Sure it is.”

“Well, I think rich people spend a lot of time in their offices, so…” Lex smiled sweetly at her boyfriend, who jokingly pushed her away.

“I just want to be comfortable. Nice car, a house with enough room for both of us and your sister, maybe a dog.”

“How homely. Perhaps I could become a famous actress and you’ll be the house-husband.”

Ethan snorted, “Sounds perfect.”

It was weird contemplating a future like this, and Lex felt herself slowly shaking her head. If they ever got the money, would she go with him? She probably would, but what would happen when they got there?

They stayed like that for a while, until Lex was sure her mother would be asleep. She drove Ethan to the shitty apartment he shared with four friends. After kissing him goodbye thoroughly, she looked at Hannah in the rear-view mirror.

Hannah never looked this peaceful awake. Granted, not many people did, but her sister had especially much to endure during her waking hours.

Lex didn’t like to admit it, but Hannah did seem crazy most of the time. The older she got, the more she talked about Webby, and dangerous things that were going to happen.

Hannah talked to other people than Lex less and less, and it got to a point where her teacher didn’t think it was right for her to go to school anymore, since she hadn’t made any progress.

Lex had gone to a few parent-teacher meetings, and had managed to convince the schoolboard to let Hannah go to school two mornings a week during the next schoolyear. If Hannah managed to get good grades, she would be allowed to finish the year. If not… Lex didn’t want to think about that.

She had been tutoring Hannah as much as she could over the course of the summer holidays, sneaking her into work so that she could help Hannah with her homework. Luckily, Hannah was very interested in learning, and an avid reader for her age.

Still, with Hannah staying home so much, and their mother not always reliable for babysitting, Lex had to struggle to make sure her baby sister was taken care of during her shifts.

Summer vacation would end in two weeks, and in the meantime, Lex brought Hannah to work with her. She really needed someone to help her out tomorrow, because if she brought Hannah to work for the fifth time this week, Frank would surely fire her.

Without the money from her job at Toy-Zone, Lex would not be able to afford groceries. And if she really wanted to move to California with Ethan, she’d need to save a lot of money. Like, 500 dollars at least. That’d probably be enough, right?

Suddenly, a text came in from Ethan.

**Babe, why don’t u ask Houston to watch Hannah? Since u always off watchin his son…**

Lex knew he was being rude, seeing as he always complained about her babysitting her old teacher’s kid, but he actually made a really good point. Lex brought up Tom Houston’s number in her phone, and her finger hovered over the call button.

She couldn’t call now. It was after midnight and surely he would be asleep. But if she didn’t call, she’d have to show up on his doorstep unannounced early tomorrow, hoping he didn’t have to work as well. She pressed call.

After a few rings, a voice called, “Lex? Why are you calling me this late? Are you all right?”

Lex sighed in relief, “Mr. Houston! I’m glad you are awake. I have to ask you something.”

“Uh, sure. Go right on ahead.” Mr. Houston’s voice sounded strained, like he had a cough. Then Lex heard a sniff and realised he’d probably been crying.

“Is this a bad time?”

“Well, it’s the middle of the fucking night, Lex, but you’ve already called me so just ask.”

“Right. I was wondering if you would be willing to watch my little sister for a while tomorrow. I work from 9 to 7 and I don’t have anyone to watch Hannah.”

“Your sister? Isn’t your Mom home?”

“She’s… indisposed.”

Mr. Houston was quiet for a moment, and Lex heard a scratching sound, like he was rubbing his neck.

“Sure, I’ll watch her. She and Tim are about the same age, right?”

“Yeah, they are. Thank you so much, sir! I’ll drop her off at a quarter to 9, is that okay?”

Lex ended the call, feeling relieved that her old teacher still cared enough to help her out. When he quit his job, she had resented him for it. Shop class was the only thing holding her grade up, and without that class, she was kicked out of her high school.

It wasn’t until weeks later that she found out from a friend that Mr. Houston’s wife had died. Lex, feeling guilty for her resentment, had gone by his house and asked if he needed help. She’ll never forget how he had looked.

Dark circled had seemed engraved under his eyes and he had lost a lot of weight. He hadn’t seemed surprised to see her, but then again, he hadn’t really reacted to anything she’d said. Maybe that was why she took pity on him and decided to babysit his kid for very little money.

Mr. Houston had never been rich, but his wife made good money. Now that her income was gone, teaching did not earn him enough money to pay the bills. So, he’d started working as a contractor, but he hated dropping Tim off at day-care every day. With Lex’ help, Mr. Houston managed to get his life together a little.

She still babysat Tim a few times a month, but since she worked at Toy-Zone now, she didn’t need the money as much as before. Still, she couldn’t ask Mr. Houston to babysit Hannah often, she couldn’t pay him.

“Lexie?” A small voice sounded from the backseat.

“Hey, Banana!” Lex turned around to see her little sister rub her eyes confusedly. “Don’t worry, we’re going home right now, and then I’ll get you into bed.”

“Okay. Did Mom drink?”

Lex sighed, knowing her sister was realising more often what was happening in their household. “She’s fine, Hannah.” Lex started the car and drove toward their little apartment on the edge of town.

“Lexie?” Hannah was slumping in her seat in the back, eyes falling closed again already.

“Yeah?”

“Webby says the toys are coming. Don’t buy one.”

“Okay. What toys?”

“The big scary green ones.”

Lex was about to ask another question, but noticed that Hannah was pretty much asleep. She wondered what her sister meant by the toys. Usually, the things ‘Webby’ talked about were more obviously pulled from Hannah’s life, her imagination fuelled by day-to-day activities.

Lex had understood why Hannah was afraid of the interstate, the blue scrubs nurses at the hospital wore, and why she had once said that Lex was going to see a lot of men with guns someday. These were all things she saw from the car, or on television.

Yet the green toys didn’t immediately mean anything to Lex. Maybe it was just an ad Hannah had seen on tv?

Lex shrugged and got out of the car, getting ready to carry her little sister to her bed. She was exhausted, having stayed up so late to make sure Hannah could sleep somewhere safe.

It felt like only minutes later that Lex’ alarm went off the next morning, signalling that it was time to make breakfast and get Hannah up. As usual, there wasn’t a lot in the fridge, but there was a piece of toast for Lex and a bowl of cereal for Hannah. Their Mom would have to figure something out herself, if she was even going to eat today.

Lex pulled up at Mr. Houston’s house just in time. “Come on, Hannah! We don’t want to be late, that would be rude.”

“I don’t wanna!” Hannah exclaimed, crossing her arms frowning.

“I know that, Banana. But we can’t go to work together every day! Plus, won’t it be nice to have a friend to play with?”

“You’re my friend.” Hannah pouted and then added, “And Ethan.”

Despite the situation, Lex smiled. Difficult as raising Hannah may be, it was worth it for the unconditional love she got in return. “Well, Tim’s really nice, let’s meet him, okay? I’ll pick you up tonight.”

Hannah was still frowning, but exited the car and followed Lex to the door. Lex would call that a win.

She rang the doorbell and heard a muffled “Yeah, yeah” from inside. After a moment, Mr. Houston opened the door.

“Lex, hi! And you must be Hannah, am I right?” Mr. Houston awkwardly put his hand out, but Hannah just raised an eyebrow. “Right.”

“Thank you so much for taking her today, I promise it won’t happen again! I can pay you!”

Mr. Houston laughed, and invited them in. “Don’t worry about it, I actually have a question about this, if you have a minute before work.”

“Sure.” Lex said, as she entered the living room. Jesus, this room was at least twice as big as their entire apartment.

Lex’ eyes must have revealed her thoughts, because Mr. Houston laughed. “We bought this place shortly before Jane died. We barely had any money left, but we felt it was worth it. It’s a little big now, with just me and Tim living here.”

“It, uh… It looks great, though, Mr. Houston.” Lex said awkwardly.

“Thanks. Call me Tom. It’s been a while since I was your teacher, you don’t have to call me by my last name anymore.” Tom said, scratching his head. “So, I was wondering if maybe I could cut a deal with you.”

Lex frowned, but sat down on the couch and nodded. Hannah immediately sat down next to her, clutching her arm.

“So, uhm. Tim hasn’t been doing well in school, and I don’t really have time to help him. His teacher wants to assign him a tutor, but those cost like thousands of dollars a year.” Tom frowned deeply, sitting down in the chair across the couch. He bit his lip before he continued.

“I don’t have that kind of money. So, I was wondering if you’d like to tutor Tim, since you already tutor your sister. It, uh, would be once a week at least, once school starts in two weeks, and maybe even before. I can’t pay you more than I did before, but,” Tom smiled at Hannah, “I thought that in return I could watch Hannah on the days she doesn’t go to school.”

Lex was perplexed, and she was sure her eyes were as wide as teacups. This would solve so many of her problems! This way, she could work five days a week and only have to have someone babysit Hannah on the days she did go to school, and that was only for a few hours after noon.

“Are you sure, Mr. Houston? I mean Tom. I mean…” Lex struggled to find the words. “That’s three days a week!”

“I know, Lex. My new job only requires me to work three days a week, and I can have my sister-in-law spring in on Wednesdays.”

“But are you sure you wouldn’t want me to pay you?”

Tom smiled and nodded, “I’m sure. We can help each other out!”

Lex turned to Hannah, who sat frozen on the couch. “Would you be okay with that, Banana?”

Hannah was a little pale, and looked up to her big sister with her brown eyes. “Ethan?”

“Ethan can still watch you sometimes when you come home from school, but he has a job, too.”

Hannah nodded thoughtfully, and pursed her lips. “Would it make you happy?”

“Would it…? Yes, I guess it would. It would really help.”

“Then yes.” Hannah said, looking at Tom determinedly. 

“All right, perfect! I do have to go now, though. Don’t want to be late.” Lex said, surprised by her sister’s easy acceptance of the situation.

“Yes, of course. I should go and wake up Tim anyway.” Tom said, getting up and walking Lex to the door, Hannah close behind.

“Sorry if she’s really quiet today, it takes her a while to warm up to people.”

“It’s all right, I’m sure we’ll have a great day.” Tom said, putting a hand on Hannah’s shoulder.

Hannah looked as though she was about to cry, but Lex didn’t bother to contradict him.


	2. If I Hurt You One More Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Lex settles into her new life, she meets a new friend and loses an old one

Chapter 2: If I Hurt You One More Time

Lex met Emma and lost Ethan on the last day of summer vacation.

It was like the sun knew that school was about to start again. The sun was hiding behind clouds all day, and it felt more grey than what Lex had been expecting. She had meant to take the kids out for a nice picknick lunch, but Tim soon grew bored of the park they were at and asked if they couldn’t go home to watch a movie.

Lex had shrugged and walked him and Hannah home, only to find a complete stranger sitting on the living room couch like she owned it.

After a little confusion on both ends, Emma had explained she was Tom’s sister in law, and that she’d come over to hang out, only to find everyone gone. She then figured she’d chill here until someone returned.

“Well,” Lex said awkwardly, “don’t let me stop you?”

“Oh, I won’t!” Emma laughed, plopping back onto the couch and taking a sip from a glass of water on the side table. “Well, now that my favourite nephew is here, maybe we can play a game?” Emma pointed toward the cupboard with board games, as Tim’s face lit up.

“Oh, please, can we, can we? We can watch the movie tonight!” He said, turning to Lex with a big grin. Even Hannah seemed excited, fiddling with her hands as she looked up to Lex with big eyes, the corners of her lips turned upwards.

“It’s not every day that kids beg you _not_ to watch tv!” Lex said, mostly to Emma, who smiled and nodded to Tim, who ran to the cupboard so fast he nearly fell into it.

Emma turned to Hannah, who had taken a seat on the floor and was leaning on the side table with her elbows, her head in her hands. She was staring intently at Emma, humming softly to herself. It was a tune Lex vaguely remembered from some coffee commercial.

Emma looked surprised, but then smiled at Hannah and hummed along.

“That’s a very cute dress you’re wearing.” Emma said, after they finished the song. Hannah, to Lex’ surprise, smiled back and whispered a soft ‘thank you’.

Tim put monopoly on the side-table, a children’s version that had cats instead of streets. Hannah, being a big fan of cats herself, smiled and enthusiastically examined all the different breeds on the box.

“Gods, I will never be able to look at cats the same way, did you see the trailer for the Cats movie?” Emma whispered to Lex, as everyone settled on the floor around the table.

“I get that, my boyfriend said he’ll break up with me if I try to make him watch it.” Lex laughed, nodding to Tim when he asked her if she wanted the blue pawn.

Emma snorted and snatched the red pawn from the box. “Fair enough, my boyfriend said he’d rather die.” She suddenly became red in the face, stumbling over her words. “Not that he’s my boyfriend… We just met in the coffeeshop, and we had drinks together a couple times. It’s nothing.”

“Sounds like more than nothing, give me the details!” Lex said, as they started the game.

It took Tim and Hannah only a few minutes to grow bored of Emma’s love story, so they ran off to play with dolls and action figures by the window, as Lex and Emma enthusiastically continued their conversation.

“Wow, so he was only coming to Beanie’s to see you? That’s pretty cute.”

Emma snorted and curled up in the corner of the couch, resting her chin on her knees. “I don’t know if I’m ready for a boyfriend like him, though. He seems… Serious.”

“What, like he’s boring?”

“No. More like he’s looking for a serious relationship. You know, one where you are working toward a future together, like you and Ethan.”

“I don’t know if Ethan and I have a future together.” Lex said, immediately clamping her hand over her mouth. “I love him, don’t get me wrong!” She corrected herself, but Emma was already frowning.

“A lot of people don’t stay with their High School sweetheart, it’s not a bad thing. Tom actually dated someone else before meeting my sister.”

“I know that it would be okay. It’s just…” Lex sighed and stared toward Hannah. How could she explain this to Emma, who she’d only known for less than a day? She and Ethan had a future together, Lex was sure of it. She just didn’t see that future extend beyond them getting the fuck out of Hatchetfield and taking Hannah with them.

Lex loved Ethan. She loved him more than she’d ever loved anyone else. Sometimes she loved him more than Hannah, because at least he didn’t sprout as much nonsense. But he didn’t feel like a long-term boyfriend.

Lex needed Ethan, for now. She had no idea what she’d do once they were in California and Lex didn’t need to rely on him for his money and support anymore. And that made her feel like a terrible person.

Before she could explain any of this to Emma, Lex noticed that Tim was staring at Hannah too.

“What did you just say?” Tim said, tilting his head in confusion. He slowly put down the superman figure he was holding and frowned.

Hannah was wringing her hands, her Iron Man figure lying forgotten on the floor. She had tears in her eyes and was shaking a little bit.

“Hey, Banana. What’s wrong?” Lex quickly walked toward her sister and hugged her closely, but Hannah fought the embrace.

“They’re bad, Lexie! Bad dolls!”

Lex thought Hannah meant the barbies and action figures she and Tim had been playing with, so she picked one up and showed it to Hannah.

“No they’re not. They’re fine, Hannah, see? It’s okay!”

But Hannah shook her head, not even paying attention to the doll in Lex’ hand.

Tim, who was quite white in the face, tapped Lex on her arm. “She doesn’t mean those. She…” He swallowed and took a deep breath, “She said there were green ones. With tentacle mouths and angry eyes. She said they were going to kill us.”

Tim, too, was shaking by now. Emma came over and put her arm around him, staring at Hannah in quiet horror. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it, Tim.”

Hannah just kept shaking her head, putting her arms around her knees and crying softly. Lex felt a wave of nausea overwhelm her, there were so many thoughts swirling in her head. She was unsure what to do, how to handle the situation. Clearly this wasn’t just something Hannah had seen on tv, if she was this disturbed by it.

For a moment it felt like the anxiety might take her out, but Lex focussed on her breathing. She took Hannah’s hand and squeezed it to calm them both down.

“It’s all right, Hannah. Nothing’s going to hurt you, I promise. Hey, I work at Toy Zone. I could keep an eye out for evil green dolls, how about that?”

That seemed to actually calm Hannah down a little. She stopped shaking and nodded once. She was still pouting, but at least she wasn’t freaking out anymore.

Lex turned to Tim and Emma. She was about to come up with an excuse, when Emma cut in.

“It’s okay Tim, Hannah has nightmares and they all seem a little real sometimes.”

Tim seemed to think that was an acceptable reason, and tentatively picked up his superman. He smiled at Hannah, and handed her the figurine.

Lex teared up at the gesture, watching as Hannah took it and toyed with its cape. “Thank you.” Hannah murmured.

Lex mouthed the same to Emma, who smiled and shrugged. Crisis averted.

Tom came home a few hours later, telling long stories about his job as a construction worker, as Lex and Emma helped the kids make dinner. Tim seemed too intrigued about all the machinery Tom worked with to mention the incident with Hannah that morning. Hopefully, he would forget it.

Dinner was a lot of fun. They had made taco’s which they were now enjoying as Tom teased Emma about her not-boyfriend.

“Wait, wait, what was his name again? Paco? Peter? Phillip?”

“It’s Paul! And he’s a really nice guy.”

Lex snorted and flicked a piece of corn in Emma’s general direction. “So when’s the wedding?”

Emma raised an eyebrow and refused to talk until Lex changed the topic.

Tim and Hannah let the three of them talk and concentrated on their dinner, wolfing it down so they could at last watch their promised movie.

As the kids settled in front of the TV, a bowl of ice-cream in front of them (courtesy of Tim nagging his dad about being sad that summer was ending), Lex, Emma, and Tom stayed at the table, not bothering to clean the dishes just yet.

Emma had her hands around a cup of hot coffee. “God, this is so much better than what we make in the store.”

“Really?” Lex sipped her cup and made a disgusted face. “Remind me to never have a drink at Beanie’s ever.”

“Will do.” Emma nodded wisely.

Tom chuckled from behind his newspaper, but then frowned as he read the next article.

“Look at this, guys,” Tom put the paper in front of Lex and Emma and pointed toward a small article on the 3rd page. “‘Man Accused of Hoarding Loads of Illegal Weapons Declared Innocent Without Trial’. What is happening in this country?”

Emma huffed, “What does it matter? Half of Hatchetfield has a gun in a closet somewhere. America just sucks.”

“I don’t have a gun!” Tom said indignantly.

“Yeah, because you’re not supposed to hold one anymore. You have PTSD.”

“Also because I have a kid.” Tom murmured. “But the weapon-part is not the issue with this guy.” Tom tapped the newspaper and then scanned it, looking for a specific part. “Here, it says that all the weapons were paid for with tax-money, but the government claims they never approved of that.”

“Then why did this guy go free?” Lex asked.

“Apparently some guy named McNamara stepped in. Some government agent, probably secret service, judging from the way they don’t mention his agency. I hate that our taxes go towards such destructive purposes.”

Lex just shrugged and continued sipping her disgusting coffee. A little while later, the doorbell rang.

“That must be Ethan! He promised to come and pick me up since my mum’s car died.”

“Again?” Tom frowned, as he stood up to open the door.

“Hannah!” Lex called her sister as she walked toward the door as well. “We’re leaving, get your things!” She then turned to Tom and nodded. “Mum has the unfortunate habit of drinking before driving. She crashed it.”

Tom grunted and opened the door, to find Ethan standing there, broad grin on his face.

“Hi babe.” He kissed Hannah as though Tom wasn’t standing right next to them.

A cough came from behind them. “You must be Ethan, I’m Emma.” Emma could barely contain her amused smile at the two of them. Ethan just nodded at her.

“You ready? Where’s Hannah?”

Hannah walked up to the door and frowned at Ethan’s car, which was parked half on the sidewalk. The usually crooked headlights seemed even closer to falling off than usual, and the hood had dirty patches of oil on it.

“Uh, why does your car look like that?” Lex asked, concerned. They had agreed to take that car to California, since it was ever so slightly less fucked up than Lex’ mum’s. Plus, her mother probably wouldn’t report them missing if they didn’t steal her stuff.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Ethan shrugged, motioning for Hannah and Lex to follow him to the car.

“No it’s not?” Lex said, noticing the scratches near the wheels and the missing rear-view mirror. Ethan looked angry, but Hannah cut in before he could say anything.

“Ethan said the car-man was shit.”

Lex turned to Hannah and raised her eyebrows. “He cursed in front of you?”

Ethan threw his hands in the air, “No I didn’t. I just said that the guy I asked to fix my car wasn’t very good at his job.” Ethan put his hands in his leather jacket’s pockets. “Cost me a grand as well.”

Hannah looked unimpressed. “Shit.”

“What the fuck, Ethan?” Lex exclaimed.

“Okay! Sorry I cursed in front of your sister!”

“No, forget about that! You spend a grand on your fucking car? We were going to use that money to go to California!” Lex was fuming, walking over to Ethan and hitting him on the arm. “And your car still looks like shit!”

“Yeah, well, the car is shit! But in my defence, the repairman was not legit at all. He sucked at his job, I basically just paid for him to fuck it up and steal some parts.”

“Stop fucking cursing in front of my fucking sister!” Lex yelled, crossing her arms. Then she added more quietly, “I can’t believe you wasted all that money.”

Emma stepped forward and put her hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “Okay, let’s maybe all take a moment to calm down? I will drive you two home, Lex. Ethan, you should just go for now.”

Ethan looked as Lex pleadingly, but she turned his back to him and nodded at Emma. She didn’t look back until she heard Ethan slam the car door and drive off.

Emma, Lex, and Hannah awkwardly left after that, Lex trying to not make the situation more weird for anyone involved. She had Hannah hug Tim goodbye, and she herself thanked Tom for letting them stay over for dinner.

When they were in the car, Hannah in the back with headphones on, Emma nervously glanced at Lex.

“Are you all right?” When Lex nodded slowly, Emma added, “Why were you so worried about money? Can your mother not afford rent anymore?”

Lex snorted, and explained her living situation to Emma, which included a short history of their family’s bad luck. When she got to the part where Lex had to drop out of school due to bad grades and a lack of money, Emma whistled.

“Wow. That must have been difficult for you.”

Lex shrugged. “Not really. I just knew I had to take care of Hannah. But I need Ethan’s help. We want to move to California.”

“Why California?” Emma asked, as she turned to the street where Lex lived.

Lex didn’t know how to explain. California was a dream, a wish for the future. It wasn’t about the place, it was about the safety of having money and a good life.

Although she’d only met Emma today, she could tell Emma came from a wealthy family, what with all the traveling she’d done without actually working. Emma wouldn’t understand how a lack of funds can drive you.

“It’s going to be better there, for all of us. Especially Hannah.” It was a shitty answer, but Lex pointed to her apartment to let Emma know they were there. She didn’t feel like explaining herself.

Hannah, noticing they were home, smiled at Emma and got out of the car, skipping towards the door. Lex stared after her, wondering, not for the first time, whether Hannah was happy. Lex had the privilege of remembering her childhood as mostly positive, but would she be able to provide her sister with the same?

“What are you going to do with Ethan?” Emma’s voice shook Lex out of her thoughts. “He’s already calling you.”

She checked her phone, which was indeed lighting up with Ethan’s caller id on the screen. She had set a cute photo of him and Hannah as his picture. Hannah was wearing Ethan’s baseball cap, and he was showing her the right way to hold a bat.

When she set it, she replaced the previous picture: one of her and Ethan, his arms around her as she struggled to take a good selfie. They were both smiling broadly, Ethan looking down at her lovingly. Lex hadn’t thought twice when she changed it, but now it made her wonder how she really saw Ethan.

“I think I need some time apart from him. Just a few weeks to figure out what I want. I don’t want to hurt him, but I need to know what is best for Hannah and me.”

Emma smiled sadly, “That sounds wise. Maybe see what happens when you don’t see him that much anymore.

Lex nodded and said goodbye. As she walked toward the door, toward Hannah, she felt tears well up in her eyes. She loved Ethan, she truly did. But what was right for her, for her little sister?

As Lex was opening the door, she glanced at Hannah, who was staring at her intently.

“What’s up, little Banana?”

“Ethan says ‘What’s shakin’ Banana.’”

“Yeah. He does.” Lex threw her coat in the general direction of the hanger and went into their bedroom, flopping onto her bed on her stomach.

Hannah followed her, sitting tentatively on the edge of her own bed. “Webby says Ethan loves us.”

Lex smiled at her little sister. It was sweet that Hannah was trying to make Lex feel better. It kind of did, since Lex knew that Ethan wasn’t faking his devotion. I mean, who would bother with a girl who had a little sister with her like a package deal?

But it was exactly the word ‘us’ that made Lex frown and stare out the window. Ethan would take a bullet for them, wasn’t that enough? Was she making a huge mistake?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like these first two chapters have mostly been setting up stuff that is happening later lol, I promise there will be some action at some point :)  
> I hope you enjoyed reading chapter two of this story! Chapter three will follow soon.


	3. McNamara’s Fairy Tale Guide to Living Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Lex meets McNamara, her tragic past is revealed

Chapter 3: McNamara’s Fairy Tale Guide to Living Happily Ever After

It had been a long time since Lex had believed in fairy tales. It was back when her Dad was still in the picture, and her Mom still loved her. Mom had been pregnant with Hannah, and Lex still remembered the way she would recite the stories to her, one hand on her belly and the other on Lex’ head.

Sure, back then Lex had delighted in hearing about Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and Rapunzel. But now she had to be a grownup, and there was no time to dwell on the past.

Now, Lex had just finished reading these very same stories to her sister. Every now and then, these stories made her voice wobble. Tonight had been one of those nights.

“They’re coming tomorrow.”

Lex closed the storybook with a little too much force at the sound of her sister’s voice, whom she had assumed to be asleep.

“Who? The dolls?” Lex put the book back on the shelf and walked to the other side of the room to close the curtain, but also to not let her sister see her annoyed expression. Hannah didn’t need to know she was getting on Lex’ last nerve, though the way Lex aggressively pulled the curtains shut might have given it away.

“No. PEIP.”

Lex frowned, but tried to keep her expression neutral when she turned to Hannah again.

“Don’t worry, little banana. If we have a mice-infestation, I’m sure we can convince Mom to get us a cat.” Her voice was sharp, and she felt it cut through the air between them.

Hannah’s eyes filled with tears and she pulled the covers up to her chin, turning so her back was to Lex.

Lex sighed, but she didn’t have the energy to console her sister. She knew that she should, but… not today.

Lex silently left their room, leaving the door open a crack. She rolled her shoulders, turning her head from side to side. She stood in the hallway for a few seconds, before shaking her head softly and walking into the living room to prepare her tutoring session tomorrow.

When she came back into their room two hours later, Hannah appeared fast asleep. Lex came over to kiss her forehead, and noticed the wetness of Hannah’s cheeks, so at contrast with her calm, steady breathing.

Lex felt fury rising in her. She was angry with herself for making Hannah feel this way. She was angry for not trying harder to make their household perfect. But most of all, she was angry with the situation, which was the most useless anger out of the three.

She could always try harder, be better, until she gave out. But Lex would never change the shitty cards she’d been dealt by whatever deity ruled over the universe. Lex thought about Webby, her sister’s interdimensional spider friend, and wondered if she ruled over all dimensions.

‘Well, Webby,’ Lex thought, ‘you’re a stupid bitch’.

Lex changed into her pyjamas and got into bed. She quickly fell asleep, but ended up waking up several times. Each time, she woke up sweaty from a nightmare, or with a dangerously full bladder, or she had trouble falling asleep again.

When the alarm finally went off, Lex felt as if she hadn’t slept at all. She managed to get Hannah up for school in time, but after she dropped her off, she felt too tired to do anything. Still, she had to work in a few hours, and there were dishes to be done.

Maybe if she hurried, she’d have time for a nap.

Lex got started on the dishes, when she heard her mother humming in her bedroom. This irritated her. Her mother barely did any work around the house, and since she got fired again, she spend most of her time at home. Besides paying most of the rent, Lex also had to clean their tiny apartment.

She scrubbed the dishes furiously, breathing slowly to calm herself down so she wouldn’t end up breaking a glass or something. To distract herself, she stared out the window, looking at everyone who passed by their house.

After a few minutes, a BMW pulled up to their house.

Now, Hatchetfield was by no means a poor town, but there were definitely different sorts of neighbourhoods. And their house was right in the middle of Shitty-Towns-Edge.

People simply did not have the money to afford such fancy cars, if they could afford one at all. Luckily, Hatchetfield had a very shitty bus service that tore right through their neighbourhood.

An older man stepped out of the car, wearing a suit that probably cost more than Lex’ entire wardrobe combined. The man had shoulder-length hair, that looked well taken care of. His curls shone in the morning sun.

He walked up to the door, oblivious to Lex’ searching eyes. He rang the doorbell, checking his watch and frowning at the time. Maybe it was some sort of salesman? Why would he come to their apartment specifically though, they didn’t have any money.

Lex shrugged and went to the door to open it. The man did not look surprised to see her, nor did he immediately ask for a parent, which debunked her salesman theory.

“Yeah?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

“Good morning. I was just coming by to ask you a few questions, can I –”

“Who are you?” Lex interrupted him rudely. She didn’t care what he’d think of her. If anything, she was probably falling into the stereotype he expected from a person living in such a unpleasant neighbourhood

“General McNamara, pleasure to meet you.” McNamara held out his hand, but Lex ignored it. “I’m with PEIP and –”

“What did you say? Peep?” Lex interrupted again, holding up a finger to shush McNamara, who sighed and looked up to the sky like he was having an existential crisis.

“P.E.I.P. We’re an special unit working for the government. Can I come inside?”

McNamara made to step inside, but Lex pushed him back. “I have never heard of that! Can you prove you work for the government?”

“Oh, of course.” McNamara stuck his hand in the inner pocket of his jacket and got out a small stash of papers. “Just a second.”

He started riffling through the papers, until he found a passport-like booklet, with a symbol Lex didn’t recognize on the front.

“There we go!” McNamara said triumphantly, opening it to show Lex the inside. There was a picture of what was clearly a much younger and more attractive McNamara. There were less wrinkles on his forehead, and his smile was bright.

Lex read through some of the details on the document, but she didn’t recognise half of the words printed there. Paranormal Extra-terrestrial Interdimensional Phenomena?

“This means nothing to me.”

McNamara looked taken aback and checked if he was holding up the right document. He looked back and forth between the booklet and Lex in confusion, as if he was trying to figure out which of them was dumber.

“It says it, right there! _This is a government issued identification card_. That’s all you need to know.”

“Well, how do I know that’s what it is supposed to say?” Lex tilted her head and pursed her lips, trying not to show that she was having fun toying with the man. “My mama says to never let in strangers. Maybe come back with a search warrant? I’ll make you tea in the meantime.”

McNamara raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Listen, kid, you better stop fucking with me. Your sister might be in trouble.”

Lex felt the blood drain from her face and her heart started pounding in her chest. The pressure was building up inside of her, but she tried to clear the whirlwind of thoughts inside her head.

McNamara looked concerned, and continued carefully, “We don’t have the facts yet, but our research suggests that she shows signs of a… higher awareness of multiple universes.” His voice was tentative at the end of the sentence, going up like he was asking a question.

Carefully as it was phrased, this did nothing to calm Lex’ nerves, and she felt herself beginning to sweat. She pulled up her sleeves and wiped her forehead with the palm of her head. Her pounding heart became louder and louder until it droned out what McNamara was saying.

One word stood out though.

“Did you just say Webby?!”

Lex saw McNamara open his mouth, his eyes suddenly full of pity, and then everything went black.

When Lex opened her eyes, only a few moments had passed. She could tell because she was on the couch, and McNamara was leaning over her, as if he’d just carried her over. Next to him was Lex’ Mom. Also, it had felt like she’d been dreaming.

She had seen herself in the Lakeside Mall, holding a lighter and a green looking doll? And for some fucking reason Linda Munroe, the weird rich lady that was always screaming into her phone, had been there too.

Now, Mom had one hand in front of her mouth in shock, and was fiddling with her bracelet with the other, a perfect picture of a concerned mother. Yet when she leaned forward to kiss Lex on her forehead, Lex could smell the alcohol on her breath. She flinched.

Her Mom asked her if she was all right, but Lex just frowned and didn’t answer. McNamara looked between them, and then sat down in the chair next to the couch as Lex sat up.

“Mr. McNamara, you wanted to talk about something?” Lex blatantly ignored her mother, who was trying to fuss over her.

“Yes. Mrs. Foster,” McNamara turned to Lex’ Mom and gave her a too-sweet smile, “would you allow me a few moments alone with your daughter?” Before she could interject, McNamara continued, “This is a sensitive subject, but I’m _sure_ your daughter will tell you about it after.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm, but from the look in Mom’s eye, it went by unnoticed.

As soon as her mother had left the room, Lex stood up and started pacing back and forth in the room. McNamara watched her like a cat, but didn’t interfere.

It took Lex a minute before she was ready to ask about what McNamara had said. She wondered aloud how McNamara knew about her sister’s spider friend.

McNamara sighed and told her to sit down. He handed her a water bottle that was on the table, but it was her mother’s, so Lex was pretty sure there wasn’t any water inside. She still took it, though, so she’d have something to fiddle with.

“The interdimensional spider, the one your sister so kindly dubbed ‘Webby’, exists in a space we’ve been referring to as the Black and White. This is a liminal space, it juxtaposes all the universes, so it is insanely important to all existence. Regardless, the place is a big nothingness, as far as we can discern.”

“A… liminal space?” Lex rubbed her eyes and combed her hair with her fingers. “What does that even mean?”

McNamara sighed and then pressed his lips together. He thought for a while before answering. “The Black and White is a threshold between all possible universes. It’s kind of like you’re passing through a door, and waiting in the doorway before entering the next room.

“However, it’s a little more complicated than that. The threshold is actually a place where space doesn’t necessarily exist. It’s just there because there has to be something between one thing and another.”

Lex didn’t really understand it more now, but she got the general idea. “So this is where Webby hangs out? And my sister can see it?”

“Yes and no. We do assume that the spider is in the Black and White, but we’re not sure your sister can _see_ in there. It’s more likely that her connection to the place itself allows Webby to talk to Hannah.”

“Well, why does Hannah have a connection to this freaking place?” Lex felt her anxiety worsen, but she forced herself to keep breathing slowly, which helped her heart slow down a little.

McNamara tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, and bit his lip whilst staring at Lex intently. “How much do you know about your father?”

Lex was taken aback by that question. She had to admit to McNamara that she didn’t remember him very well. She knew that her father was raised by his mom, since his dad had prioritized his work as a scientist over his family, and had worked himself to death.

As for Lex’ father, she couldn’t remember how or why he left. When he disappeared, she had been old enough to somewhat understand what was going on, but she mostly remembered her mother’s anger.

She would never forget how she’d hide under the kitchen table, a wailing baby Hannah pressed to her chest, whilst her mother broke the china in a never-ending rage. She’d tried to run to her room, but she’d stepped on a shard of glass and cut her foot. Her mother finally calmed down a little when she saw the blood flowing out of Lex’ foot. Lex still had a scar there.

“Your father, Mr. Foster, was born as Mr. Cross.”

Lex nodded, the name sounding vaguely familiar to her.

“Your grandfather was Wilbur Cross, and he worked with PEIP. He was my mentor.” McNamara cleared his throat and clenched his fist. “Wilbur was an excellent physicist, he was the one who found out about the Black and White, and created a portal to control the connection between our universe and the interdimensional threshold. You see, there are universes that are very much like ours.”

Lex understood that. If every decision you made could lead to a different universe where you made the opposite decision, there must be more similar universes than stars in the sky. When she voiced this, McNamara shook his head and explained that this was not necessarily true.

“The true number of universes is still unknown, but our research has shown that the amount of universes like ours, universes where Hatchetfield exists, and Wilbur Cross lived in it, is limited. However, in some of these universes, PEIP is more daring and advanced than others. In these, ours included, PEIP managed to send Wilbur into the Black and White.

“We were ecstatic, until Wilbur came back a raving lunatic. Wilbur had encountered different versions of himself, which had fundamentally broken him. We kept going on about a version of him whose mind had been corrupted by an evil entity named Wiggly. Wiggly, very much like Webby, exists in the Black and White, but apparently he wants to cross over.”

McNamara started telling the story of how he lost his mentor in this universe. Halfway through, Lex got up and got him a tissue. She was starting to sympathize with McNamara. Although she knew Wilbur Cross was technically her family, he had been McNamara’s family in all the ways that counted.

When Wilbur came back, he wasn’t fully himself anymore. He was more like an imprint, something that had been there but was now kind of gone. Wilbur tried to find a connection to this world, mainly in the form of his family, so he went out to find Mr. Foster, who by then had become a formidable scientist like his father.

Wilbur asked Mr. Foster to work for him, which he did, chasing some form of connection with his dad that he never had. After a few years of working on the portal to see if they could bring Wilbur’s lost essence back from the Black and White, Mr. Foster didn’t see it working out anymore. He was afraid that strengthening the portal would allow Wiggly to cross over.

At this point in the story, McNamara actually had to get up and calm himself. His eyes were filled with tears, but he admitted they were not just tears of sadness, but also shame.

“Wilbur and Mr. Foster had been fighting for a few months over this, Lex. I’d never seen my mentor get so angry, so loud. One night, the fighting got so bad that your dad wanted to quit. He wanted to destroy the portal and return to his old job.”

McNamara bit his lip and closed his eyes, his cheeks red.

“Wilbur killed your father. He was in a frenzy, and he didn’t seem himself anymore. After that, he flung himself into the portal and we never saw him again.”

Lex’ eyes had gone wide. She stood up and felt anger rising in her. She hated Wilbur Cross. Without him, she would still have a happy family. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

“Why didn’t we ever hear about this? I had assumed my father was dead, but we never officially heard!”

“I am so sorry Lex. We couldn’t tell you or your family, because all information about the Black and White is private. No one is allowed to know. Plus, we didn’t think your mom would like to know her husband had been lying to her about working in a lab for all those years.”

Lex frowned and hit the wall with her hand. She was slightly pleased to see McNamara flinch.

“I don’t fucking care! We should have known!” Lex yelled. She heard her mom shift in the other room and realised she should keep her voice down. Her mom would freak out if she hear about this, and Lex didn’t have money to go and buy more plates, cups, and glasses.

She forced herself to calm down, but when she let herself fall down on the couch, the thing nearly broke.

“If it helps, I’m not sure if even the president knows about PEIP.”

Lex snorted despite herself, “That’s probably a good thing.”

McNamara laughed, but the smile was wiped from his face as he spoke his next words.

“We thought all the craziness ended there. We weren’t allowed to destroy the portal, as that would ruin all of our research, but we figured Wiggly wasn’t strong enough to cross over on his own.”

“Let me guess, Wiggly _is_ in fact strong enough?”

“No. But we have evidence that suggests he will compress himself in a different form. There is still a version of Wilbur that is helping him. He will take this form into a universe, and if Wiggly manages to take hold there, he can take hold anywhere the Black and White can reach.”

“What is this form? Is it toys? Hannah mentioned toys.”

McNamara looked up in surprise. “Her connection to the black and white must be stronger than we thought! Yes, it’s toys. They will be sold in another universe, on Black Friday.”

“That’s November 29th! That is in three weeks!”

“Yes, but I believe Hannah’s connection to the portal might help in figuring out how to destroy it. If we can destroy any trace of the portal in our universe, we might be safe from Wiggly’s power!”

“Wait, I still don’t know why Hannah is connected to the Black and White!”

McNamara looked as if she’d shaken him from deep thought. It took him a few seconds to process her question.

“Don’t you see? Mr. Foster’s long-term exposure to the Black and White must’ve granted him a sense of control over the place. Somehow this must’ve been passed on to Hannah!”

Lex didn’t know how she could’ve realised this, but she just sighed. Although this was all very confusing, it also made sense to her somehow. Hannah had always been different, from the day she’d been born. And how could McNamara have possibly known all of this if he wasn’t telling the truth?

Still, she didn’t understand why McNamara had come to her. She wasn’t a scientist. If her Dad had been some sort of genius, Lex sure hadn’t genetically received his big brains. She hadn’t even managed to finish High School!

“But why are you here?”

McNamara straightened, as if he’d been waiting for her to ask that question.

“Well, that portal needs to be destroyed before midnight on Black Friday. It is the only way we can guarantee that our universe will be saved.”

“Okay? So, destroy it.”

McNamara levelled her with a look that could kill. “Oddly enough that thought did occur to me. PEIP is legally not allowed to destroy the portal. We are under strict instructions to leave it be for as long as it will last.”

McNamara sat down in the chair next to the couch again. He nonchalantly took an envelope from his inner pocket and toyed with it.

“Of course, if something were to happen to it…” He dropped the envelope on the floor and pushed it under the couch with his foot. “… we would not be forced to repair it. It would be deemed a lost cause.”

McNamara stood up and nodded to Lex. He turned to leave the room, but Lex stopped him, getting up from the couch to pull his arm and make him turn around.

“Why would I do that?”

McNamara snorted, “I don’t know, to save the universe? I’ll make sure you won’t get caught. My men will look the other way.”

Lex shook her head, “Why would I risk myself? You can just do it. Explain you ‘saved the universe’ and your bosses won’t be that angry.”

“Clearly you have not met my boss. I cannot stress this enough, Lex. If I do it, it won’t work. YOU need to destroy this portal.”

Lex wasn’t convinced. And McNamara could tell.

“I have had my men watching you. I know you want to leave. California, is it?”

“You creep!” Lex exclaimed, “You have no right to do that!”

“And you have no way to prove it.” McNamara sighed. “You can’t run away from this, Alexandra. I have a feeling this issue will follow you wherever you go.”

Lex shook her head and took a step away from McNamara, afraid of what he’d do to her if she said no. McNamara watched her every movement closely and smiled sadly.

“I’m truly sorry, Lex, but you are the only person who I can give this information to. I know you don’t want this, but it has to be you. Please, check the envelope.”

With that, McNamara left Lex standing in the living room. It suddenly felt a lot colder than before.

As soon as the door slammed, Mom came in from the kitchen with a mug of tea and a tin of cookies. Confused, she asked where the nice man had gone.

“He left, Mom. You don’t have to keep up the act.”

Lex went into her and Hannah’s room and slammed the door so hard, a framed picture fell to the ground and the glass frame shattered. Lex walked over and picked it up.

It was a photograph of Lex, with Hannah as a baby on her lap. Lex knew she was a lot younger in that picture, but the innocent smile on her face made her realise just how young she had been. Hannah had her hand outstretched, and Lex was holding on to it carefully.

They were sitting in the nursery in their old house, the one Mom had to sell when she got fired for the first time. They had moved in here, the shared-room set-up supposedly temporary.

Lex inspected the background of the picture more closely. The walls had been painted a soft green, with forest creatures painted on them. Her Mom used to be a great artist. There were a few shelves up on the wall, with loads of pictures and trinkets that Lex didn’t recognise.

Although it had been years since Lex had been in that room, it felt like home. Their current apartment was no home. It was barely a house.

Looking around the small space she shared with her sister, Lex felt trapped. She had been waiting patiently for the day she could take Hannah and leave this place. But now, what with Ethan fucking up and spending all his money on a shitty car, that day seemed farther away than ever.

Lex needed money, and she needed it bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on vacation this week, but I'll try to find a moment to update!


	4. Let’s Plan an Explosion I Guess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lex figures out a plan with the help of Tom's Cooky family... And his new girlfriend?

Chapter 4: Let’s Plan an Explosion I Guess

McNamara must have superpowers, Lex was sure of it. How else could he have known that Lex had opened the envelope underneath the coach and had gasped at the money inside of it? How else would he have known when to send her a second letter, providing her with a map of the compound she was to break into?

Or perhaps he had just been watching her for far too long.

Lex shoved that thought out of her head. If she could get this job done, she would never have to worry about McNamara again. She would simply get the rest of the money he’d promised her (a thousand dollars on top of the 100 he’d already given her) and get the fuck out of Hatchetfield.

She’d have to have a bag ready to escape with after she blew up the portal, in case authorities linked this to her and wanted to follow her to Cali. Well, she’d have to pack all of her and Hannah’s belongings. Maybe two bags, then.

Lex leaned back in her chair and squinted at the map she’d been deciphering. It showed the layout of a three-story building, each floor depicting where the rooms where, but not what was in it. That is, except for the third floor, where the biggest room was clearly marked ‘LAB’.

It had an indication of what objects were in the room, a few desks, some storage cupboards, and a hand-drawn picture of a portal. If Lex wouldn’t have been able to identify it from the drawing of it, the word ‘PORTAL’, written in red marker, would have done the job.

Lex tilted her head, trying to figure out where in town this building was. There were a few other buildings drawn on the map with pencil, like an afterthought. No explanation of what they were, or where, but… There, in the corner, there was an address scribbled in tiny handwriting.

Lex squinted at the address and vaguely recognised the street name, which she thought was somewhere outside of town. It was a half-built neighbourhood, which Lex knew because she had come out there to smoke weed a bunch of times.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, that it took her a couple of seconds to realise someone was turning the key in the lock. She had been babysitting Tim, having brought Hannah along so she wouldn’t be home alone.

The kids were asleep, as Tom went out for dinner and drinks with Emma and Paul, the latter seemingly having been accepted as her boyfriend by now. It was nearing eleven, so Lex should’ve realised they’d be home soon.

Before she had a chance to fold the map and hide it, Emma burst into the room.

“Hey, Lexie! Did you have a nice night, did the babies go to sleep well?” She said, throwing her coat over a chair and plopping down in it.

“Mm-mm!” Lex tried to hum nonchalantly, but failed miserably from the look on Emma’s face.

“What, were you watching porn?” Emma giggled, as Paul, Tom, and a woman Lex didn’t recognise entered.

“NO!” Lex said, shaking her head at Emma and then at Tom, who laughed heartily.

“Well what are you looking at, then?” Emma leaned over and snatched the map from Lex before she could protest. “What’s this?”

Tom looked at it as well, frowning in confusion. “Lex! Were you planning a robbery or something? You’re better than that, come on.”

“No!” Lex sighed, trying to figure out how to explain the situation without actually telling them about the portal and the multiple universes thing. “I was just…” Her eyes slid to the unknown woman, who was standing awkwardly next to Paul, her arms crossed in front of her.

Emma followed her gaze and rolled her eyes, “That’s Becky, she’s Tommy’s old girlfriend.”

Tom, red in the face, shook his head rapidly. “That’s not… She’s not… We’re just friends!” At Emma’s obvious look of disbelief, he added, “We’re not even friends, we don’t know each other!”

Becky snorted, and then smiled at Lex. “He means we used to date, but recently reconnected. We’re just getting to know each other again, as friends.”

From the look they exchanged, Lex didn’t believe that for a second, the longing in their eyes painful, but Lex nodded.

“Nice to meet you. And no,” She looked at Tom, “I’m not _robbing_ anything.”

“Just finding the best way to get into that lab?” Paul said, looking at the map over Emma’s shoulder. “Try to see if the tree next to the second floor window is climbable, it is close enough to the house that you could see if you could get it open.” When Lex gave him a blank stare he shrugged, “Just stating the obvious”.

Emma looked at Lex sympathetically, reaching for her hand and squeezing it. “Whatever it is, you can tell us! It’ll be okay, maybe we can help you figure something out, do you need money to pay rent? Do you still want to go to California?”

Lex’ eyes filled with tears at Emma’s genuine worry. She couldn’t tell them though, they’d think she was crazy. They’d scold her for believing a stranger, they’d – “I’m getting money from a secret government agent to destroy a portal so that an evil children’s toy won’t kill every universe!” Lex half-shouted, cupping her hand in front of her mouth immediately after.

It was quiet for a few seconds, all the adults exchanging looks, no emotion on anyone’s face. Tom’s eyes were wide, and he slowly sat down on the couch, tapping his fingers on his leg.

Lex felt the heat rise to her cheeks and bit her lip. Well, there went any chance of any of them liking her, let along Tom having her tutor Tim anymore.

But Emma laughed, tipping her head back. “I didn’t know you worked for the FBI! I thought you worked at toy zone!” She managed to get out through her laughter.

Lex looked away, disappointed in herself for admitting the truth, but also upset with Emma for her insensitive reaction. Of course it sounded like bullshit, but that did not mean Emma had to be rude about it.

Lex felled rage rise in her, fuelled by her shame for having admitted her crazy new ‘job’. She clenched her fist, and when Emma continued laughing, despite the rest staying quiet, despite Becky’s indignant glare, Lex angrily grabbed the map from Emma, nearly tearing it in two, and shoved it into the linen bag by her feet.

“Whatever, fuck this! I’m waking up Hannah and we’re going home.”

“She can stay here. I’ll take her to school tomorrow.” Tom said quietly, something like sadness in his eyes.

“That’s fine, thanks.” Lex spat, getting up, “She’ll be confused waking up here and throw a hissy fit.”

Tom shook his head and smiled softly at Lex, not bothering to get up to help her get Hannah. “She’s slept over before. Besides, she likes hanging out with Tim.” At Lex’ scoff he continued: “You _know_ that she’s been doing better since she met him. Talking more, doing better in school.”

Lex turned toward the door, not wanting them to see how the pang in her heart translated to her face. Although the responsibility of raising Hannah was not technically hers, Lex felt like she was failing her little sister. And that hurt like hell.

“Fine. I’ll pick them up and tutor them after school tomorrow.” Lex had meant for it to come out briskly, or at the very least indifferently, but the softness of her voice and the lack of force behind the words betrayed her.

“Lex…” Tom said, biting his lip as Lex turned to him, tears in her eyes. It didn’t seem like he actually had anything to say, he just stared at her with pity, which only made her want to cry even more.

Before she knew it, Becky’s arms were around her. Lex wanted to shake her off, but Becky whispered softly, “It’s okay. Tom told me how amazing you’ve been with your sister. The only reason she’s come so far is because you’ve been there to support her.”

Although Lex didn’t believe her, it did make her feel better. She nodded once, twice, and stepped out of Becky’s embrace, only slightly weirded out by this relative stranger being so kind to her. When she looked at Tom to say goodbye, she noticed wet streaks on his face.

He walked over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “I believe you.” Lex’ eyes went wide, but he continued before she count interject. “Hannah’s been mentioning the toys to Tim, he asked me about them. From how stubborn and clear-eyed Hannah looked when I talked to her about it, I knew she wasn’t spurting complete nonsense.”

The tears started falling from Lex’ eyes, and she threw her arms around Tom’s neck. He seemed taken aback by this uncharacteristic show of affection, but after a moment he hugged her back. Lex figured she could blame Becky for it if it ever came up.

They all sat back down and let Lex do the explaining, Emma staying very quiet and refusing to meet Lex’ eye. Nor Becky’s for that matter. When Lex had told them everything as clearly as possible, they all stayed still for a few moments, processing.

Becky was the first to speak up. “That building on your map, I think it was supposed to be a bakery, with living space upstairs.”

“How do you know that?” Emma said sceptically.

Becky pursed her lips and frowned. “They were building a new neighbourhood there, with its own little shopping district. My cousin was going to move into one of the apartments there, but the project was not properly funded and put on indefinite hold. I heard pretty much everyone on the waiting list moved to Clivesdale.”

“Fuck Clivesdale!” Paul said out of nowhere.

“Fuck ‘em!” Emma added, smiling at him like that statement made sense.

Tom raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he turned to Lex, pulling the map from her bag and studying it.

“So we need to destroy the portal. How will we do that?”

There was not a hint of doubt in his voice, and Lex had to watch him for a few seconds to believe he wasn’t poking fun at her.

“You really believe me.” It wasn’t really a question, but Tom nodded anyway.

“You’re a good kid, Lex.” Tom smiled, “I know you wouldn’t make this up. Nor would Hannah.”

Lex definitely didn’t tear up again at that, but she studied the map and pointed at the portal.

“We need to blow it up. I just don’t know how. Does anyone know how to make a Molotov cocktail by any chance?”

Before Emma could nod, Paul offered, “My friend Bill’s daughter still has some fireworks left from last New Year’s? Maybe we could use that?”

“No offense, Paul, but I think we’re going to need something stronger. Dumbass” Emma’s tone was condescending, but from the way she looked at him, and how her hand lingered on his arm after she tapped him dismissively, Lex could tell that Emma insulting him was somehow affectionate.

“Tom, don’t you work as a construction worker, now that you’re no longer teaching?” Becky said suddenly, putting her hand on Tom’s arm.

Tom blushed at the direct addressal and cleared his throat. “Yeah. I could sneak out some explosives. I mean, I’d have to do it bit by bit so people don’t notice, but I can definitely make that happen.”

Lex explained that they only had three weeks, as Black Friday was approaching rapidly, but everyone seemed determined to help her, which made her oddly emotional. Was this what having a support system felt like?

After discussing their options for a while, Emma slapped her legs and stood up, “Well, I think it’s smart if we go and check out this building! We need to see what we’re working with, so we can form a plan.”

“Does that mean you’re in, too?” Lex asked, squinting at her friend.

“Yeah, I am.” Emma said softly. She coughed awkwardly and added, “I’m always ready to blow shit up.”

“Someone has to stay behind to watch the kids.” Tom noted.

At first, no one volunteered, until Emma sighed, “Paul and I can stay here,” she said reluctantly, “Just don’t be back too late, because I have an early shift at Beanie’s tomorrow.”

As Emma and Paul settled in on the couch, their arms around each other, Emma nearly sitting in Paul’s lap, the rest put on their coats. Lex had already opened the door when Tom’s eyes went wide and he walked back into the living room.

“Emma. You’re coming with us, too. You two are NOT having sex on my couch!”

Ten minutes later found all of them together, crouched behind some bushes, looking at the building Lex was to infiltrate. They were viewing it from the back, from what was probably supposed to have been a little park.

There was a half-built playground, some wooden benches and half-assembled swing sets placed seemingly randomly around a large field. All around it were thick, thorny bushes that Lex wasn’t sure were supposed to be there. Everywhere, the muddy grass and weeds had grown so high it was difficult to walk through without ruining your shoes.

In all, Lex was freaked out by the place. There was no sign of human life anywhere, apart from the two white vans next to the building. Lex could tell they had driven here often, judging by the deep tracks that were left on the other side of the park.

“Paul was right,” Tom whispered, pointing at the second floor window, “we _could_ probably climb that tree and get in through the window. We just need someone to stay behind and give us a boost.”

“We? Us? What are you talking about? I’m not letting you guys go in there with me! What if we get caught?” Lex exclaimed, louder than was probably smart. Becky glanced nervously toward the building and bit her lip.

“Well, we’re helping you, whether you want us to or not.” Emma grabbed Lex’ hand and squeezed it, her eyes still apologetic. “Maybe you can ask Ethan to help us climb the tree?”

“No.” Lex said determinedly, remembering her anger with Ethan, “To both of those things. Ethan has done enough ‘helping’ and I’m not okay with risking you all..”

“And you are okay with risking yourself?” Tom said bluntly, staring Lex down. Before she could reply, he continued. “We are doing this together, because that’s what friends and _family_ are for. Write to McNamara and ask him to leave the window open on Black Friday.”

Lex felt anger rise in her. Anger and… Shame. She did not deserve these people. She could not possibly allow them to help her, only to use the money McNamara gave her to take Hannah and get the hell out of Hatchetfield.

But Tom would keep insisting. He’d never give up on her. He believed her, he believed in her. So Lex found herself nodding, once, twice.

“As healthy and important this conversation is, we need to go. Right now!” Becky whispered sharply, pointing toward the building.

Five men in lab coats were slowly walking around the building, guns clearly visible within reach. They were too far away for Lex to recognise them, but they looked scary enough for her to duck behind the bushes, just like her friends already had.

“Shut up, Becky! Why are you even a part of this?” Emma said, her shaking hands and quivering voice revealing the reason behind her rudeness. We all stared at her quietly, until Tom looked at the men again and deemed it safe for their little group to move.

“But yeah… We should probably get out of here…” Emma shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. What Happens When Friday Is Black?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seems like Black Friday has finally arrived...

Chapter 5: What Happens When Friday Is Black?

Lex had never liked black Friday. There was just always so much fuss, and people would spend so much money on shit they didn’t need. What with Lex coming from a poor family, she could never understand that.

There was more reason to dislike this particular black Friday though, because this year she was sneaking into a government building to blow up a portal to some interdimensional place.

Lex didn’t know how she was going to survive today, how she was going to keep her shit together long enough to get out of there. But she knew what she was doing it for. She stared at Hannah, who was sat next to Paul with a book in her lap, and smiled. Hannah was worth it.

The plan was relatively simple, so simple that Lex was sure something would go wrong. Tom, Becky, Emma, and Lex would go to PEIP headquarters, where Emma would be the lookout and Becky would help them climb the tree. Then Tom and Lex would blow up the portal, setting a timer for 30 seconds so they were out of the house when the explosion happened.

Paul would stay at home with Hannah, keeping her entertained and safe. He had offered to be the one to stay home, and Emma had mumbled something about him being a baby.

Lex was scared too, though. She was scared that she would not walk out of the building in time. She was scared that she’d get caught, or that she’d get the others in trouble. But most of all she was scared that it would be for naught. McNamara could easily back out of the deal, as there was no contract. Lex would be left with no way of getting out of Hatchetfield.

She wasn’t even sure if she still wanted to go to California. Without Ethan, was it still her dream to go there? Was that dream still achievable? Was Hatchetfield really so bad that she had to leave?

Ethan had been calling her at least twice a day, but Lex hadn’t talked to him. Life was weird without him to talk to every day, but it also made sense to focus on herself somehow. Lex hadn’t seen him in the past three weeks, although Tom had sworn he saw his car in Lex’ street one night.

Lex shut out her thoughts, smiling at Emma as she walked in with their coats.

“You ready?” Emma asked her quietly. Lex nodded, but provided no further comments. Emma looked worried, but Lex just put on her coat determinedly.

Hannah looked up from her book, frowning. “Where you goin’?” She sounded scared, and worried.

“It’s okay, Banana. I’m just going to a work thing. Emma, Tom, and Becky are coming with. You can stay here and hang out with Paul tonight!”

Hannah shook her head determinedly. “Come with.”

Hannah’s diction often got worse when she was scared, but normally it was accompanied by tears and shaking. Today, Hannah just seemed irritated.

“You can’t, Hannah. This is an event for adults.” Emma said, kissing Hannah’s head.

“Tim?” Hannah asked, looking at Tom.

“Tim is having a sleepover with a friend. You can play with him tomorrow.” Tom said, checking his watch to see if they were still in time. He had a backpack in his hand, where Lex knew he had the explosives from his work. She wondered if someone would notice they’d gone missing. Whatever, McNamara could take care of that.

Suddenly, Hannah stood up and ran over to Lex, clutching her hand. “But the toys!! Wiggly dolls!”

Lex didn’t know how to explain to Hannah that the toys were in a different universe. If she tried to calm Hannah down by saying that, she would also be confirming that everything Hannah sees is real. That was potentially more terrifying.

Lex sighed, “Hannah, I told you! I work at toy-zone. There are no green tentacle dolls being sold there!”

“Will be! Soon!”

“Look, if someone ever wants to sell us these dolls, I will personally tell Frank that we shouldn’t. Okay? You remember Frank, right?”

“The Capitalist Freak?”

Lex snorted, glad her sister had remembered the nickname she gave her boss. “That’s the one. Do you trust me? Do you trust me to stop the evil doll if he shows up?”

Hannah glanced up at her, staring into Lex’ eyes. She sighed, “…yes.”

Lex was surprised Hannah gave up so easily, she kissed her sister on her forehead and smiled. “Good. Now go show Paul that dinosaur book you like.”

“Okay, but I’m going with you.” Hannah said, skipping off to the bookcase.

“Uh, no you’re not?” Lex said indignantly. “Paul is watching you and you’re staying here. Don’t test me, Banana.”

“I’ll sneak out. I need to be there.” Hannah said seriously, taking the dinosaur book off the shelf and opening it.

Paul looked uncomfortable, but walked up to Hannah and kneeled in front of her, awkwardly putting his hand on her shoulder. “Listen, Hannah. I know it’s hard, but Lex will be home again in a few hours, okay? And I will be here making sure you cannot sneak past me, because it’s safer for you here.” Paul was clearly trying for a stern but kind tone.

Hannah looked Paul up and down and turned to Lex, unimpressed. “Not a problem. I’ll sneak past.”

Lex was about to yell something rude at her, when she noticed Tom checking his watch again. They exchanged looks and Lex realised they had to go. McNamara’s men would only be on duty for another hour, and they didn’t want to risk being near the portal when the next shift arrived.

“Fine! You can come, but you’re staying in the car with Paul!”

Lex expected Hannah’s eyes to shine with excitement, but she merely nodded once. She got her coat and put it on, waiting for the others to finish doing so as well.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Emma asked, standing close to Lex so Hannah wouldn’t hear.

“There’s no other choice.” Tom replied for her. That was all the validation Lex needed.

“Let’s go.”

As it turned out, failing to gracefully climb a tree was even more embarrassing when there were several people watching you. Lex struggled to find footing at first and nearly fell out of the tree and on top of Becky. Lucky for her, Tom grabbed her arm and pulled her up, although her body did slam into the tree rather hard.

With a few scratches and bruises, Lex managed to go through the window that McNamara had indeed opened, per her request. She looked at Tom, who unswung the backpack from his back and checked if the explosives were still intact.

They had agreed not to talk when in the building, lest there be some agents there that weren’t on McNamara’s side, but Lex wanted to express how grateful she was to Tom. He was risking so much being here with her. He could lose Tim, he could lose his job, he could lose the life he had been working so hard for ever since Jane had died.

But maybe that was exactly why Tom was doing this. He knew, more than anyone in their group, how difficult it is to lose someone you love and having to make life worth living again. Imagine losing everyone all at once.

Tom was emotionally stronger than Lex. Despite his gruff voice and his sighs and raised eyebrows, he loved very strongly. And unlike Lex, he did not run away when things got tough.

Tom signalled toward the stairs, insinuating they should keep moving. Lex knew very well that time was running out and they had to leave before the new shift of guards arrived. Still, she threw her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest, holding on as if her life depended on it. Tom hugger her back for a few second, and then pulled away.

She had wanted to say thank you, but was afraid to speak because she didn’t want to alert any guards, just in case they weren’t 100% loyal to McNamara. From the teary eyed smiled on Tom’s face, the point got across anyway.

Together, they quietly hurried up the stairs, wincing at every sound they made. By the door that Lex recognised from the map as the entrance to the lab, there was a tall man, looking as stern and straight as the guards at Buckingham palace.

For a moment, Lex thought their plans were ruined, but the guard just stared at them and then walked into a room on the other side of the hallway, closing the door softly behind him.

Lex and Tom made eye contact, until Tom stepped forward and opened the door to the lab. Lex followed him in, and was immediately taken aback by the mess that awaited her.

The lab clearly hadn’t been entered much since research on the portal stopped. There was dust everywhere, and Lex was sure she heard mice scatter as she walked in. There were five desks on the left side of the room, by the windows, and on the right side was the portal.

It was like an archway, but made of metal. It was the only thing in the room that wasn’t completely covered with dust, meaning someone must have been coming in every few months to clean it.

Lex looked over at Tom to see if he was getting the explosives from his bag, but found him by the desk closest to the door. He signalled her over. Lex was confused, weren’t they supposed to hurry up?

She walked over to the desk Tom was pointing at, and gasped at the pictures she beheld on it. There were three framed pictures. The first was a picture of Lex’ dad, his arm around an older man who Lex assumed to be her grandfather, given how similar the men looked.

This must have been her father’s desk! Tears filled her eyes as Lex looked over at the second picture. This one was a family portrait of Lex and her parents, when she was about four years old. She had vague memories of seeing these pictures in their old house.

It had been a photoshoot where the photographer had put Lex in all sort of weird poses, crossing her arms and leaning slightly backward, laying down on her side in front of her parents with a hand on her hip, in her mother’s arms whilst her parents were kissing.

Lex looked away before she started to cry. That was when she noticed the third picture. It wasn’t framed, but it was propped up against some books. It was an ultrasound of a foetus that was probably a few months old. At first Lex assumed it was Hannah, as there was no picture with her on the desk, but when she checked the date, she realised it was her.

Her dad must have worked in this lab for an incredibly long time, if he was already working there before Lex was born. She shrugged and grabbed the picture of her with her parents and shoved it in Tom’s backpack as he was carefully taking the explosives out. Tom didn’t ask any questions, just smiled at her.

“Ready?” He whispered, walking over to the portal and placing their makeshift bomb in front of it.

Lex nodded and walked over as well, trying to ignore her growing headache. It felt as though there were whispers in her head, and shaking her head to lose them only made them grow louder. There was a flash of something green and Lex recoiled.

Tom was looking worried, but she just gave him a weak smile and took his hand. They had already decided to activate the bomb together, and then run downstairs to climb out the window as fast as they could.

Together, their joined hands pressed the button, and they broke out in a sprint. The bomb probably wouldn’t hurt anyone outside of the lab, but they wanted to make sure they were gone before authorities showed up.

As Lex stumbled down the stairs there were flashes before her eyes, something black and huge and angry. She fought the urge to throw up as she followed Tom to the window. The last few steps were so hard, she didn’t know how she would ever climb down the tree on her own.

Tom was dragging her outside by her arm, forcing her to stand on the thickest branch of the tree. Lex shuffled forward, reaching toward something to hold on to. Tom may have been yelling something at her, but Lex was far too occupied with the swirling strands of… something at the edge of her vision. Something horrifying.

She glanced down and saw Hannah standing next to Paul, who had to hold her by her shoulders to keep her upright.

One moment Lex was up in the tree, the next a loud explosion sounded and she was falling as Hannah screamed and fell as well. Something was curling its nails or claws around her brain and it was whispering so terrifyingly that Lex did not feel the pain in the arm she landed on, or the leg Tom fell upon.

All she could focus on was that voice, that whisper, and as she looked up she realised the others could hear it, too. Because Hannah was speaking in the voice. Lex crawled toward her, toward her little sister with her braids and her backwards baseball cap and her pitch-black eyes that shone as though a thousand supernovas were trapped within.

“ _Lex please listen there is something that must be done_ ”

Lex shut her eyes to cope with the headache that attacked her head with every word. She peaked through one eye to see Becky, Tom, Emma, and Paul, all with huge eyes and white faces.

“ _Lex destroying the portal was not enough there is another portal YOU are the portal you and your sister your connection will help Wiggly enter…_ ”

Lex yelled out in pain and frustration, what did this mean? Who did this horrible voice belong to?

“ _Listen! LAY STILL AND LISTEN!”_

Lex felt her body relax, and with that she saw more flashes of black. It was a monster. Some horrible creature with tendrils of black around it, shooting out of its body like… Like a spider. Webby.

_“Yes I am Webby I am the one that kept Hannah informed all these years”_

Informed? Lex felt like shouting every curse-word she knew at Webby. This creature’s whispers were what drove Hannah to behave the way she did, and now Lex finally understood why.

“ _There is no time you must destroy the connection if you and Hannah don’t lose it Wiggly will worm his way through someone must go through the portal and”_

“But we blew up the portal!” Tom said, his hands shaking as he grabbed Becky’s.

“ _Lex can guide someone through to cut ties with her and Hannah but you must be quick Wiggly is coming closer with every passing second and I cannot maintain this connection and fend him off at the same time”_

Through her pain, Lex looked to her right and saw a car parked that wasn’t theirs. Was it the police? Someone needed to enter the Black and White and cut the ties, cut the connection, before the police stopped them.

But the car was too crappy to be a police car. It was too old and broken for any sane person to be driving it. Ethan.

Ethan exited the car and ran to her, wanting to grab her hand, but Emma stopped him.

“Ethan, don’t! You’ll –”

“I know, I heard. But someone must go through and stop this.” He seemed determined, and Lex wanted to yell at him to go away, but Webby interrupted.

“ _He’s here I’ll hold him off but hurry Lex be the portal cut the connections”_

If Lex thought she was in pain before, it was nothing like the pain that coursed through her body now, as green joined black. Someone had to end this.

Tom stumbled forward but Becky held him back, clinging to his arm as though she would rather die than let him go. Emma took a step forward, and then two steps backward, into Paul’s arms.

Webby had released Hannah, who laid still with her eyes closed. Lex couldn’t see if she was breathing. Suddenly, her words to her sister earlier cut through her. ‘Do you trust me? Do you trust me to stop the evil doll if he shows up?’

Lex thought of a portal, she thought of a bright yellow light coming out of her hands, she thought of the metal arch they’d blown up and she thought of the green and black flashes before her eyes. Of two monsters fighting. And then she thought of her sister. She felt her connection to the portal open up.

But before she could think of herself stepping through the portal, Ethan was beside her, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his mouth to kiss it. Before his lips touched her, Ethan was gone.

He was standing in the black and white, crunching low to hide from Webby and Wiggly’s fight. There were flashes of green and black and black and green and green and… Ethan stood up, confident.

“What do I do, Lex? How do I cut the ties?”

Cut ties. Like a pair of scissors cutting a thread. No sooner had the thought entered her mind, or Ethan was holding a pair of scissors and endless rows of thread were before him. Images were shimmering on the thread, but Lex couldn’t see what they displayed.

Luckily, Ethan could. “They’re you, babe. Different versions of you and your sister. Oh, babe, you are so beautiful.”

Lex wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but whatever it was, it must have been impressive. His eyes were full of love and the look of euphoria on his face reminded Lex of when they first fell in love.

He grasped the scissors firmly, cutting through the first few rows of thread in one go. Webby flashed past and it seemed as though she was hurt. Although it was impossible to tell where her body stopped and the Black and White began, it felt as though her black tendrils of power were shimmering, getting dimmer.

Ethan seemed to notice too. He took a deep breath, steadied his shaking hands, and kept cutting the seemingly endless strings.

Lex was vaguely aware of the voices of her loved ones in her ear, but she couldn’t see them anymore. There was just Ethan and the ties. And the black versus the green flashes, both getting dimmer now.

Ethan hovered the scissors over the last ties.

“You are so beautiful, baby, I love…”

Everything cut to black. When Lex opened her eyes, Ethan was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I could've used my fanfiction privileges to write justice for Ethan, but... I'm sorry lol


	6. Epilogue: Tomorrow Has Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the epilogue of this story! It shows the way Lex feels after the events of Black Friday and how she sees the future :)

Epilogue: Tomorrow Has Come

When Lex woke up in the backseat of Tom’s car, she wasn’t sure how she’d gotten there. She had a vague memory of being dragged away from the place where Ethan’s body should have been, but an empty patch of grass remained. She had nothing left of him.

Lex remembered loud voices, maybe screaming, but not her own. She had been quiet, still, shocked. She hadn’t felt anything. Not until now, in the car with Hannah on her right holding her hand. Her sister looked clear-eyed, more so than she had since she was a small child. She looked wiser, somehow.

On her left was Becky, who put her arm around Lex’ shoulder and hugged her close when she realised Lex was awake. Lex took a shaky breath and leaned her head on Becky’s shoulder. The events of that evening hadn’t quite settled in yet, but with Becky’s arm around her, Lex felt safer, as if she had someone maternal to protect her.

She started to become more aware of her surroundings, and realised they were not driving back to Tom’s house.

“You got a call from McNamara, Tom picked up.” Becky must have seen the confused look on Lex’ face, because she started to explain what was happening. “McNamara thinks it’s best for us to leave Hatchetfield for a while, just until this blows over and he can make up a cover story.”

“Wiggly, the green monster, is he…?” Lex felt a panic rise in her.

Hannah squeezed Lex’ hand. “He’s gone, Lexie. Whatever Ethan did… It worked.” Hannah choked a little on his name, tears shining in her eyes, but she smiled softly.

Lex made eye contact with Tom, who was driving the car, through the rear-view mirror. He seemed older than he had been at the start of the day. Yet there was peace on his face, too.

All of the sudden, he seemed like such a dad. Of course, he had been before, but now, with Becky cuddling her and Hannah next to her, Lex felt as though Tom was _her_ dad, taking the family on a trip. It would’ve been complete if Ethan was sitting in the passenger seat, shooting back that bright smile whenever Lex made a joke.

“He left you a note.” Tom said. For a moment, Lex thought he meant Ethan, and a small sliver of hope sprung up in her. But then he continued, and Lex tried not to burst into tears when she realised Tom meant McNamara.

“I didn’t read it, but he left it for you at your house. We went there to pick up some of your and Hannah’s stuff. We’re headed to a vacation house owned by Paul’s parents. He and Emma are picking up Tim from his sleepover and will meet us there.”

“They’ll probably arrive first, what with how long Tom and Hannah took picking out clothes for you.” Becky’s tone insinuated that she was joking, but in their current circumstances, Lex didn’t find it very funny. She appreciated the effort, though, so she smiled a little.

“How long will we stay?”

“Just a few days, maybe a week? McNamara will keep us updated on the situation in Hatchetfield.”

“What if someone asks us where we’ve been?”

“McNamara told us to say we were on family vacation.” Tom smiled at that, and Lex couldn’t stop a small smile from forming on her lips, too.

When they arrived at the vacation home, Emma and Paul were indeed waiting there already, Tim asleep in Emma’s lap on the couch. Paul opened the door and showed them to the bedrooms. Lex was still a little shocked, so Becky took over and made sure everyone had a place to sleep.

Tim and Hannah would share the bedroom that had a bunk bed, something which Hannah was very excited about. Tim, who they’d woken up so he could hug his dad, also seemed happy about the sleeping arrangement, especially because he could fall asleep again.

Hannah was still wide awake and full of energy, somehow. It was hard to get her to settle down. Lex was amused by the way she kept poking fun at Tim, as if they were siblings that had grown up together. Perhaps they had. Hannah seemed to have aged a few years in just one night.

Becky and Tom took the master bedroom, and Paul moved his and Emma’s bags into the only other room with a double bed. This left Lex all alone in a small room in the back of the house. It had a queen sized bed, which took up most of the space in it.

Lex ensured everyone she was okay with it though. She did not want to be a burden, and she had a lot to think about. Paul scooped up her bag and brought it to her room, refusing to listen when she said she could carry it herself. Lex supposed it was his way of showing he cared.

Just before Lex changed into the pyjama’s Hannah had picked out for her, Tom came in and handed her the note from McNamara. It was folded in two, with Lex’ name on it written in cursive. She sighed and opened it, reading it quickly.

_Dear Alexandra Foster,_

_I would like to formally apologise for the loss you have suffered today. It was never our intention to put your loved ones at risk. There truly is no excuse for the trauma we’ve thrust upon you, but I hope you accept my sincerest apologies._

_This is not the only reason I’m approaching you so quickly, though. Although we believe your mission to have been a success, we are unsure of what events might have taken place in different timelines. Wiggly was stopped here, but due to our lost connection to the other universes, I cannot tell you for certain he has lost power everywhere._

_There’s a very real chance that things like this will happen again and again, if not in our universe then another. I want to ask for your help in preventing events such as what almost occurred today. I recognise the intensity of what I am asking, and acknowledge your right to refuse. Furthermore, if today was enough excitement for a lifetime, desk jobs are available._

_I do hope you’ll consider this position, Alexandra. P.E.I.P. could use someone with your strength._

_Sincerely,_

_J. McNamara_

_Ps. We would be able to pay for the completion of your (online) High School education._

Lex reads the note twice before the words make sense to her. She was being offered a job? To do something that actually mattered? This would mean no more people-pleasing in an ugly uniform at Toy-Zone. She had to say yes!

But, this would also mean no more dreams of California. Staying here would go against every future Lex used to see for herself. But then again, those futures had always included Ethan. Without him, was California still the dream?

Lex used to think she’d do what was best for Hannah. But wasn’t a family what is best for her sister? Someone like Becky to hold her when she was sad, someone like Tim to keep her company, someone like Emma to ask for dating advice. Paul would make a decent babysitter and Lex and Tom could protect her.

They’d still have to get away from their mom, but maybe they could move in with Tom, seeing as his house was so big and empty without Jane. Or maybe they could get a decent place with the money McNamara would pay Lex. He kind of owed her.

California had been a dream conceived to create a place where happiness would meet her, but happiness wasn’t waiting there. Maybe she’d still go someday, just to visit what might have been. Maybe there’d be some connection to a different timeline, one of the futures where Lex and Ethan went there, together with Hannah.

Maybe a part of Ethan would be waiting for her there, and she could say goodbye.

Later that night, Lex was still mulling over McNamara’s note, and every future with Ethan she’d lost. It was a few minutes past eleven and everyone else was asleep, but Lex couldn’t, even if she’d try. She softly cried and cried, the fact that Ethan was gone catching up to her fully.

After a while, Lex heard the door open. She tensed, worried that somehow McNamara was wrong and they were not in fact safe. But she saw Emma sneak into her room through the crack of light that came in from the hallway.

Emma wordlessly slipped into bed with Lex and pulled her close. Lex didn’t have the energy to cuddle her back, but she did lean her head slightly toward her friend. Emma, to her credit, wiped away Lex’ tears with her own shirt, but let her cry quietly. There wasn’t much she could have said to make things better anyway.

A few minutes and quite a few tears later, the door opened again and Hannah came in. She was bleary eyed, and her cheeks were wet. Lex opened the covers for her, and together the three of them cried softly for those they missed.

Somewhere, in the nearby village, a clock tower started rang its bell, just once. It was midnight.

Hannah had already fallen asleep, but Emma whispered softly to Lex:

“Black Friday is over. You are safe now. You are home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have literally been working on this since November... I am so glad I finished it though! It may not be my best work but I really enjoyed writing it :) Starkid really does write interesting characters for fanfiction!


End file.
